Masked Gunman Holds Up Nn Bank

Area's 7th Bank Robbery In 2 Months

NEWPORT NEWS — When she first saw a man with a mask over his head, Deborah thought it was a joke. But when he waved a gun in her direction and told her to face the wall, she knew he wasn't playing.

"I thought I was going to get shot in the back. That's all I could think about," said Deborah, who asked that her last name not be published for fear of retribution. She was one of several customers in the Langley Federal Credit Union at 11105 Warwick Blvd. when it was robbed Friday morning.

Police say a masked man walked into the office at 11:10 a.m., held several customers and a teller at gunpoint and escaped with an undisclosed amount of money.

The robbery was the second bank holdup in Newport News in three days and at least the seventh in Hampton Roads in two months. Authorities say they aren't sure if Friday's robbery is connected with any of the others; the man's description didn't match the earlier robbers'.

"It does seem all of a sudden that we have seen a notable increase in bank robberies throughout the Tidewater area," said Sgt. Mike Brewer of the Newport News Police Department.

He said while he can't conclude that bank holdups increase during the holidays, "robberies in general are higher this time of year. People are more desperate, especially now with times getting tougher."

Deborah said she was at the teller's window making a car payment when she heard somebody yell, "Get against the wall and turn around."

When she looked up, she saw a masked man with a gun.

"At first, when he came around the corner with a gun, I thought it was a joke," she said. "Then I knew better."

Brewer said the robber entered the lobby displaying a semiautomatic weapon. About eight customers were inside, and the robber made all of them face the wall. With gun in hand, he entered the teller's area and demanded money, Brewer said.

Some witnesses told police the suspect might have escaped in a car, although Brewer said police couldn't confirm that.

Brewer described the robber as white, about 5-foot-9, medium to stocky build in his late 20s or early 30s. He was wearing stonewashed jeans, a dark blue hooded jacket and a dark cloth over his face with holes cut out for the eyes.

On Wednesday, a man held up a Crestar Bank in Rouse Tower on Jefferson Avenue. The robber, described as a black man who escaped on a bicycle, had not been caught as of Friday.

On Thursday, the FBI released a photo of a man believed to have robbed five banks in Hampton, Suffolk and Norfolk over the last two months. Authorities say he is a heavyset, middle-aged man who is possibly Hispanic.